88 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



CEYLON AND ITS "PRODUCTS" AND 

 " HISTORY." 



"Coconuts," "Cocoanuts," "Cacao," 

 " Cocoa-Gardens v ;— Why was " Ceylon " 



Taken by the British in 1796 ? 

 The "Ceylon Observer" has fought for 40 

 years to get rid of the erroneous spelling of the 

 name of our principal Palm, and although its 

 editor's opinion was scarcely once shared in the 

 press (and books) during the "seventies" of 

 last century, now it is very different. In 

 England and America as well in the tropics, 

 the correct form of "coconut" is fast pre- 

 vailing. It is a pity that in a recent account 

 of Ceylon in the London press from official 

 quartet:, there is nothing to help home readers 

 to distinguish clearly between the palm and 

 the "chocolate'' or cacao bush ; but rather, 

 such spelling and reference that may well make 

 "confusion worse confounded." For instance, 

 what may not home readers understand 

 when they come on: "A little higher up the 

 monotony of the tropical vegetation is raised by 

 the metallic foliage of cocoa-gardens, which 

 presently, as the altitude increases, are replaced 

 by low tea bushes, set in ordered rows, dotting 

 the hills as far as the eye can carry." Curiously 

 enough in this paper dealing with "landscape" 

 as well as "history," there is not one mention 

 of the Palm (Coconut) as a feature in the out- 

 look, although the "Palmyra" is named ; but 

 among the products which have mainly caused 

 material prosperity are mentioned the " cocoa- 

 nuts"*— (pretty sure to be confounded by some 

 stay-at-home folk, with "cocoa-gardens.") 



In the brief sketch of history, it is a pity that 

 one reason for the British interfering in Ceylon 

 in 1795-96 is not mentioned, namely, that the 

 object was to capture and hold the Dutch Pos- 

 sessions everywhere at that time, on behalf 

 of the legitimate "Orange" family who were 

 dispossessed by the Bonaparte's ; and the Gov- 

 ernor in Colombo (Angelbeck) was more than 

 suspected of making the surrender to the 

 British, easy, because he was a partisan of the 

 Prince of Orange. At the end of the war, when 

 the island had to be returned, it was decided to 

 retain Ceylon and give Java in exchange— a far 

 better bargain for the Dutch ! 



SOYA BEANS AND OIL. 



There has been a considerable set-back in 

 the export of Soya Beans from Manchuria 

 and several reasons are advanced for the 

 depression Some are of the opinion that 

 the Manchurian beans have not the commer- 

 cial value originally claimed for them. Others 

 again think that the oil has been found a more 

 profitable line than the export of the beans 



* That is in the separate paper "Facts and 

 Figures" (where most of the agricultural 

 statistics, though not acknowledged, are pri- 

 marily due to the "Ceylon Handbook and 

 Directory"). The wrong spelling for the palm and 

 products is adhered to in every case, although 

 this error is now avoided by all Ceylon authori- 

 ties. But mott likely, for this, the London 

 «' printer " must be to blame. 



themselves while yet again the suggestion is made 

 that the success which has attended the experi- 

 mental cultivation of the bean in the West 

 makes it possible that in future, countries 

 in these parts will be in a position to supply 

 their owu requirements. We give the following 

 extract from an exchange on the Food Value of 

 the bean. Two varieties of Soya may be seen 

 growing at the Government School Garden in 

 Colombo— one of these is a creeping species, 

 evidently the variety recommended for green 

 manure, while the other is already bearing pods, 

 and is the variety which produces the beans. 



FOOD VALUE OF SOYA BEANS. 



The soya bean has lately came into some pro- 

 minence by reason of its extensive uses in the 

 manufacture of oil and soap, and because it forms 

 return cargoes for tramp steamers bringing coal 

 to the East. Dr. Gilbert Brooke, Port Health 

 Officer of Singapore, describes some new uses for 

 this article : — 



The object of this paper is to show that wo 

 have at hand an article of diet which is cheap, 

 which can be grown over large areas of the globe, 

 which is palatable, which is not attacked by any 

 known insect or fungus, which forms valuable 

 by-products, and — most important of all —which 

 contains, more nearly than any other known 

 animal or vegetable substance, all the essential 

 and properly proportionate constituents of a 

 perfect diet. 



Rice is a very badly balanced food, consisting 

 mainly of starch, having next to no nitrogen, 

 and hardly any fat or salts. In this rice stands, 

 in the scale of food values, almost at the bottom, 

 whereas the soya bean stands at the top. But 

 it is remarkable that nature and experience seem 

 to have taught rice eating races that one of the 

 best accompaniments to rice is some form of 

 leguminous food, such, for instance, as dhal, the 

 small yellow pea so much used by natives of 

 India. Following out this analogy it would seem 

 to be most desirable to foster among Asiatic 

 races that depend mainly upon rice as a staple 

 the simultaneous consumption of the soya bean 

 as supplying in abundance those essential food 

 elements that cannot in the least be derived 

 from rice. 



Among the economic products derived from 

 the soya Dr. Brook enumerates these: — 



(1) Bean Curd. — A most nutritious jelly can be 

 made from the soya bean. This has been known 

 and widely used by all classes in north China for 

 the last 2,000 years. 



(2) Bean Milk.— The beans are dried, very 

 finely ground, and made into an emulsion with 

 water. This forms a valuable milk, which resem- 

 bles cow's milk, in that it coagulates when heated 

 and acidified. The possibility of this is due to the 

 fact that the proteid is composed of casein, as in 

 the case of animal milk. 



(3) Bean Cheese. — A nutritious cheese is fre- 

 quently made in Japan from bean milk. 



(4) Bean Flour. — The dried and pulverized 

 bean is most valuable as a soup basis. It is also 

 useful for making biscuits and infant foods. Soya 

 biscuits, produced by a Scotch firm, are supplied 

 on several P. & O. mail boats. 



